Post by Pulpmariachi on Dec 20, 2005 13:53:55 GMT -5
It's no big secret here that I'm a major Wes Anderson fan. Not wanting to jump to conclusions or anything, I would venture to guess that I'm his biggest fan on this Board. So I've decided to have a marathon of his four films over the next couple of days, watching in chronological order.
So first up is Bottle Rocket! His first theatrical film, which is actually an extended version of this short he made and sent to Sundance, which was picked up my James L. Brooks (The Simpsons) and produced as a major motion picture.
Okay, not MAJOR in any sense of the word. It's one of those films that found its life on video.
It is the story of these upper-middle class kids who want to start a life in crime. The main character is Anthony, played by Luke Wilson, who is just out of the looney bin (where was voluntarily committed for exhaustion) and is now apart of this operation that his friend Dignan (played by Owen Wilson in his first role) has "masterminded." They start off doing a practice job on Anthony's own house before doing their main job on a bookstore. All of this Dignan is doing to impress a Mr. Henry, who is the local criminal mastermind, running a front called The Lawn Wranglers.
Oh, and it's not helping matters that Anthony falls in love with a Mexican housekeeper named Inez while on the lam.
The film, as mentioned before, is the first theatrical film directed by Wes Anderson and while it's pretty good it still lacks some of the Anderson-esque things that I've loved. We still care about his characters in this one, though here they are just bored kids who've maybe seen too many movies (instead of over-ambitious children or failures that emcompass his latter works) and want something DIFFERENT.
Also lacking is the WIDESCREEN aspect ratio. Shot in 16X9 instead of 2.35:1 (as is normal for him), the frame seems to want to be a lot more loosed and opened. Everything is kind of cramped together. Also, I feel that this movie doesn't have the rewatchability factory of everything else Anderson has accomplished.
There are a few bits in the movie that are really...downers, mainly in the second act, but the first robbery of the bookstore and the last robbery of the film really shine and will have you rolling on the floor laughing. And then there's the hinting of the great soundtracks that Anderson will eventually put together.
This movie really is the start of a family. Owen and Luke Wilson are here (as well as their brother Andrew Wilson), cinematographer Robert Yeoman, composer Mark Mothersbaugh, and all sorts of other people who continue to work with Wes.
Anyways, it's a good little film that's worth seeing, even if it doesn't have a lot of things that Wes is known for, it is building them.
This film is like the innocent, naive Tarantino. It's his only one like that (thank God), but it's something fun to watch.
***/****
By the way, Mr. Scorsese has called this one of his favorite films of the 90s.
So first up is Bottle Rocket! His first theatrical film, which is actually an extended version of this short he made and sent to Sundance, which was picked up my James L. Brooks (The Simpsons) and produced as a major motion picture.
Okay, not MAJOR in any sense of the word. It's one of those films that found its life on video.
It is the story of these upper-middle class kids who want to start a life in crime. The main character is Anthony, played by Luke Wilson, who is just out of the looney bin (where was voluntarily committed for exhaustion) and is now apart of this operation that his friend Dignan (played by Owen Wilson in his first role) has "masterminded." They start off doing a practice job on Anthony's own house before doing their main job on a bookstore. All of this Dignan is doing to impress a Mr. Henry, who is the local criminal mastermind, running a front called The Lawn Wranglers.
Oh, and it's not helping matters that Anthony falls in love with a Mexican housekeeper named Inez while on the lam.
The film, as mentioned before, is the first theatrical film directed by Wes Anderson and while it's pretty good it still lacks some of the Anderson-esque things that I've loved. We still care about his characters in this one, though here they are just bored kids who've maybe seen too many movies (instead of over-ambitious children or failures that emcompass his latter works) and want something DIFFERENT.
Also lacking is the WIDESCREEN aspect ratio. Shot in 16X9 instead of 2.35:1 (as is normal for him), the frame seems to want to be a lot more loosed and opened. Everything is kind of cramped together. Also, I feel that this movie doesn't have the rewatchability factory of everything else Anderson has accomplished.
There are a few bits in the movie that are really...downers, mainly in the second act, but the first robbery of the bookstore and the last robbery of the film really shine and will have you rolling on the floor laughing. And then there's the hinting of the great soundtracks that Anderson will eventually put together.
This movie really is the start of a family. Owen and Luke Wilson are here (as well as their brother Andrew Wilson), cinematographer Robert Yeoman, composer Mark Mothersbaugh, and all sorts of other people who continue to work with Wes.
Anyways, it's a good little film that's worth seeing, even if it doesn't have a lot of things that Wes is known for, it is building them.
This film is like the innocent, naive Tarantino. It's his only one like that (thank God), but it's something fun to watch.
***/****
By the way, Mr. Scorsese has called this one of his favorite films of the 90s.
